The Secrets of a Girl
by Olivia Ballard
Summary: What happens when a murder hits too close to home, and Mal and Natara can't get it together? What about when it's more than one life at stake?
1. Who Died?

**You are now Melanie Santos.**

"Ugh, what happened." You ask, the throbbing pound in your head erasing every memory you have of the past several hours.

"I see you're awake." A cold female voice says from behind you, the click-clack of heels coming closer to you.

"Who's there? Where am I?" You cry, shivering as a cold damp breeze blows through the room and chills your skin.

"I just want to talk."She says, leaning down and pressing her cold fingers to your neck, a sharp pain shooting through your body as she does.

"I don't want to talk to you, I want to go home." You cry, realizing that this isn't right, that you shouldn't be here. "I don't like it here."

"It doesn't matter, you won't be here for long." The icy voice slithers over you before something soft and wet covers your mouth, restricting precious air from your lungs, and putting you in a daze. You try to fight back, but the woman is stronger, an you're getting weaker by the second. You're lungs burn for air and the last thing you remember is cold familiar eyes glaring down at you.

"Sweet dreams sweetie, if only you had wanted to talk."

You have died.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

You sit with your partner Special Agent Natara Williams in your favorite seafood restaurant, eating clam chowder.

"So then, Sandra came by my apartment and we talked about the divorce, how we would split up most of our assets." You say, gulping down some coffee before looking into Natara's eyes. "It just made everything feel so real, you know. It's one thing to be separated, but an actual divorce just puts the final nail in the coffin."

"I'm really sorry Mal, but I think that the divorce is exactly what you need." Natara says, her eyes tender. "It'll help you really move on." She is about to say something else when her cell phone goes off. She glances down at the screen, and her face lights up with a smile. "Sorry Mal, I have to take this." She gets up quickly and walks toward the door, but you can hear little tidbits of her conversation. Your heart sinks as you realize she is talking to the Assistant Distract Attorney, Oscar Santos.

"Yeah, I'll see you at the event." She giggles and gives her hair a flip, much to your chagrin and surprise. As she sits back down, her eyebrows draw together as she notices you gapping at her.

"What, do i have something on my face?" She asks, self-consciously brushing at her cheek. Your eyes follow the movement, and you heart speeds up as you take in her beautiful alabaster skin.

"No, it's just, I've never seen you act like such a girl." You say with a shrug, collecting yourself.

"That's because I'm not a girl Mal." Natara laughed, the light hitting her as she threw her head back and chuckled. So beautiful. "I am a woman."

" I don't mean that you're not...womanly, I'm just saying that I have never seen you flip your hair while talking to a guy, not even with Shawn." You realize what you have said to late, and watch as she cringes.

* * *

><p><strong>Two months ago.<strong>

You don't know how it's gotten this far, but you pull the trigger, and Shawn's eyes go wide with pain. You hear Natara's screams, but they float away as Shawn's lips widen into a smile and he leans in closer and whispers " Every time she sees you, she'll see this, my face. Detective Fallon. I. Win."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day.<strong>

"Sorry." You sigh apologetically and look out the window into the calm ocean and blue skies.

"It's fine Mal." Natara clears her throat and abruptly stands up. "Really, you don't have to apologize every time Shawn comes up." You know she's lying, but you don't press it. You stand up as well, leave enough money on the table to cover both your meals, and glance back at Natara, who is already walking towards the door.

"Damn it Fallon, try to use your brain every once in a while." You whisper to yourself before following her out.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara WIlliams.<strong>

You sit in Mal's car, awkwardly drumming a rhythm onto your thigh so you can avoid looking at him.

"Look, Nat, about earlier, I shouldn't have brought up Shawn, it was-"

"It's fine Mal, like I said before." You say, still looking down, knowing in your heart that it isn't. Every time someone says Shawn's name, it's like you're right back on the roof, hearing the shot that changed everything for you. "Let's just go back to the station."

"Fine." Mal says, he hands tightening around the wheel. You know that you've hurt him by not talking about, but you just can't, not about Shawn, not about that night. The rest of the ride feels tense and uncomfortable.

Later, at the precinct, you stride over to your desk and shuffle through papers that had been placed on it, looking through new cases and profiles that you have been asked to review.

"Hey Natara." Ken walks up behind you and leans against the edge of your desk.

"Hey Ken." You answer back, looking at the profile of a serial rapist that had gotten a prison sentence of twenty to fifty years in jail.

"Can you tell me why Mal is hanging by the coffee maker looking like his girlfriend just dumped him?" Ken asks, his eyes suspicious. You look up and follow his gaze over to Mal, who is staring into his cup with a serious look on his face.

"We got into a fight at the restaurant, something that doesn't need to be talked about." You hide your face behind the papers, feeling a blush creep into your cheeks.

"Al-righty then, but that's not the real reason I came over here." Ken leans down, pulls that papers that your holding out from your hands, and gestures to Mal. "Captain wants the both of you in her office now."

"Okay." You say, walking over to Mal and telling him what Ken just said.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon. <strong>

You stroll into Captain Maria Yeong's office with Natara at your side, still feeling some of the awkwardness from earlier still in between you two.

"You asked to see us Captain." Natara says, walking up to the desk. Maria turns around and nods at the two of you.

"Please sit." She said, gesturing to the chairs that sat in front of her desk.

"What's going on Captain?" You ask, sitting down and watching as Natara did the same.

"There's been a murder." She says, leaning against the window.

"We are homicide detectives Captain." You joke, hoping to get a smile on Maria's grim face.

"This is no time for jokes Detective." Maria says sternly, walking forward and sitting down at her table.

"Captain, what is going on, really?" Natara asks, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"Special Agent, Detective, this isn't just any murder, this is the murder that hits one of our own." She said gravely.

"Who?" You ask, your curiosity aroused.

"It was Assistant District Attorney Oscar Santos's daughter Melanie." Maria says, her eyes on Natara. You glance over at her and see how her face has fallen, her eyebrows drawn together.

"Melanie?" You hear Natara whisper and then she gets up. "Has anybody talked to Oscar yet?" She heads for the door, her hand on the doorknob.

"Special Agent Williams, sit down." Maria says firmly. "I didn't call you in as D.A Santos's girlfriend, I called you in as an F.B.I agent. If this is going to be a problem for you, well then I think that this is going to be in your best interest to sit this case out."

"Captain, that's not fair." Natara argues." Oscar has the right to know about his daughter, and I'm not going to be the one not to tell him about this crap!"

"Special Agent, sit down, and watch yourself." Maria warned.

"For what," Natara asks defending the rights of my boyfriend?" Natara folded her arms over her chest.

"Agent Williams," Maria barked, "this is the last warning I'm going to give you before I call two police officers in here to escort you out."

"Maria-" Natara begins, her voice sharp. You realize that whatever she is about to say isn't going to be good, so you stand up and take her arm.

"Natara, stand down." You hiss in her ear, yanking her backwards. She glances back at you, her face going from furious to calm with every second that you hold her close to you body. You on the other side, are having an opposite reaction, your heart speeding up and every hair on you arms standing up on edge. Natara disentangles herself from you and turns back to Maria after a minute, her face unreadable.

"I'm sorry captain, it was wrong for me to lash out like that, and it won't happen again." She says, folding her arms behind her back.

"Even so, you understand where I'm coming from when I say that you are off this case." You can feel Natara about to argue again, so you grab her around the waist and tug her towards the door.

"Thank you for your time Captain." You say, struggling as Natara punched your arm. Maria nods as you exit.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You fight your way out of Mal's arms and spin around, eye's flashing.

"What the hell Mal, I have to be on this case." You spit, feeling a cold bubble of hatred go through you as you watch Mal's boyish good looks screw up into a frown.

"Sorry, Nat, but between being off the case, and off the force, I think I would pick the former." He says.

"Mal, Oscar has the right to know about his daughter, no matter how painful." When you see he won't budge on his opinion, you change tactics, think about how you can get him on your side. "How would you feel if you weren't told about Tasha's murder?" He flinches away from you and you immediately regret what you just said. Tasha was a low blow.

"Pretty bad." He says, his eyes letting you know that he wasn't talking about Tasha at all. He turns and begins to walk away, compelling you to follow, leading you into the very public bullpen.

"Mal, just try to see it from where I'm standing." You grab his shoulders, making him stop.

"I do." He spits, drawing the attention of nearly every police officer in the bullpen. "You like Oscar, Oscar likes you, so suddenly you no longer like common sense or self-preservation." This is probably one of the worst fights that you have had with Mal, and you're ready to go all in. You glance around the bullpen and see that every is hanging on your every word.

"Oh, Mr. Follow-Your-Guts is reprimanding me for not having any common sense?" You laugh. Mal looks so angry he could kill.

"I'm not doing this with you right now." He says, maybe doing the most mature thing that you have ever seen him do.

"When would you rather we do this. I mean, can you pencil me in your empty date book?"

"Natara, watch it." Mal warns, echoing Maria. You want him to see how much his help would mean to you, how much you need him to be your partner instead of the guy trying to oppose you.

"What is it Mal? Because you know that if it was anybody other than Oscar, you would help."

"No, I wouldn't because what Captain said was right. You can't be on this case because you are too close. I bet you didn't even know Melanie, and yet you're willing to fight tooth and nail against Captain?"

"She was Oscar's daughter." You say, you're voice close to a whisper.

"Where's the Natara who could look at a case and see the facts, not be clouded by emotions, the traits that make us such a good team?" Mal asks, he steps so close to you, you can feel his breath on your cheek. You want to answer, when you hear someone clear their throat behind you.

"Is it true?" Oscar asks from behind you. " Is Melanie…gone?" Oscar voice breaks and his eyes glisten with tears. You turn to Oscar, too soon to see the way Mal face falls. You can't speak speak until your heart beat slows down.

"Oscar, I am so sorry." You say, walking towards him. "It's true, Melanie's gone."

* * *

><p><strong>You are Krista Summers.<strong>

You wake up in the same cold room that has been showing up in your nightmares. You try to remember what happened to you, but all you can think about is the sharp pain in your head as you fell to the ground.

"Hello?" You call, your voice echoing through the empty room.

"It's your fault that Melanie is dead Krista." A familiar voice says, the woman coming closer to you from your left.

"I-I would never hurt Melanie." You say, goosebumps creeping over your bare arms. "She was my friend."

"Some friend you were." Suddenly, every hair on your head is begin pulled back and the mouth of a knife is pressed against your neck.

"Pl- please don't kill me." You beg. The woman laughs a cruel, calculating laugh.

"I won't kill you honey, I need you to do something for me."


	2. A New Theory Formed

**You are now Krista Summers.**

"Please, let me go home." You whimper, your body aching from exhaustion and pain.

"Not until you agree to do me a little favor." The woman that has been keeping you hostage says, pressing the blade to your neck once again, just like she had done for what felt like forever.

"I can't do it unless y-you tell me what it is." You cry, a sharp tearing feeling passing through your body and sending you into a daze.

"Just say you'll do it." She say harshly, the knife digging deeper into your skin.

"Yes, I will, just please, please don't hurt me anymore." You scream, the pain bubbling in your feet, shooting all the way up to your brain, and filling in all the gaps in between.

"Good, now when I let you out of here, let's practice what you're going to say."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

The sun streams into your apartment room two weeks later, lighting the bed where Oscar is sleeping, his face salt-stained and his eyes bloodshot. You quickly go to the bathroom and get ready, thinking about the day that you are going to have, between arguing your case to Captain, getting Mal back in your corner, and taking care of a devastated boyfriend.

Once finished in the bathroom, you slip back into the room and see that Oscar is sitting up, his eyes on a fixed point on the wall.

"Hey." You say tenderly, going over and sitting down next to him, taking one of his hands in your own.

"Hi." He mumbles back, still staring at the wall. Your gut tells you that you should try and get his attention, but the profiler in you tells you that you should let him grieve however he needs to.

"So, I was going to go into the precinct in a couple of minutes, but I can stay with you if you want." You offer, rubbing you hand along his forearm.

"No, no it's okay. I don't want to keep you from work." Oscar says, finally looking at you. You can see how haunted he looks, how much he is hurting, and you want to stay, you want to be there for him, but that isn't your decision to make.

"Okay." You say, leaning over to kiss his check, your lips brushing against his smooth, tanned skin. You stand and walk towards the door, picking up your jacket on the way. You are about to leave when you hear him start to speak again.

"I was eighteen when I got my girlfriend pregnant." Oscar begins. You sit back down and listen. "I hated it and I hated her for no good reason except that it could ruin my life. I told her that she could do whatever she wanted with the baby, but I wanted nothing to do with it, or with her. I hoped that she would just…get rid of it." His voice cracks and his eyes fall. "She had the baby though, and every year she would send me pictures, pictures of this beautiful little girl that blossomed into a young woman right in front of my eyes. Her eighteenth birthday just passed, and it made me realize how much time I was missing. I went over to her house, and I begged her to let me know her. She wanted nothing to do with me, but her mother, a woman who owed me absolutely nothing, convinced her to see me once a week for coffee. I realized that she was smart, and pretty and funny and the perfect daughter. And now two months later she's dead."

"I can stay Oscar, I swear." You say, feeling your heart break slightly over that story.

"No Natara, I need you to find who did this." He grabs your arm and holds on tight. "You need to find this sick bastard and make sure they pay." You pry your arm from his grasp and stand up.

"Okay Oscar, but if you need me, call me." You say, feeling silly for quoting an old Bob Marley song.

"Yeah, yeah." He says absent-mindedly, his eyes going back to the wall.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

You sit at your desk and look through the details of Melanie Santos's murder, going through anything that could help bring Melanie her justice.

"Mal." You look up and see Ken standing in front of you, arms folded.

"What?" You answer, returning back to your reading.

"Captain Yeong said I'm gonna help you with the Santos case. "

"Thank God, I'm not seeing why this girl was killed." You run your hands through your hair and hand Ken the sheets on Melanie Santos. "I stayed up all night trying to do that thing Natara does, you know, see connections and everything, but I'm drawing a blank."

"Do you think that that has something to do with what happened with Natara yesterday?" Ken asked. You look at him and blow at a stream of air.

"If she wants Oscar, she can have him, I have a murder to solve." Your stomach twists in a knot at the thought of Natara and Oscar together.

"Well, what do we know about her?" Ken sits at the edge of your desk.

"She was a half latino, half caucasian female, late teens, just graduated high school. Everyone apparently loved her, she was popular and good at every sport, club and activity in the world. Why would somebody want to kill her?" You want to yank out your hair you're so frustrated.

"Two months before her death, her father reached out and became apart of her life. He's the assistant distract attorney, this can't be a coincidence." Natara steps up behind you and sits down on the edge of your chair, her thigh brushing against your forearm. She nods to Ken before continuing. "Maybe, someone who wanted to get back at her dad figured that the best way to hurt him was to go for her."

"You're not on this case Natara." You say, glancing at the Captain's door.

"Mal, do you think you can stop me?" She tries to joke, but you look away, remembering how she has turned away from you, chosen Oscar instead.

"Natara, go home. Be with your boyfriend or something." You say gruffly, standing up and walking away.

"Mal." She calls after you, making you stop. "You aren't still mad at me about what I said yesterday, are you?" She asks, her expression worried. "I wasn't thinking straight, I'm sorry."

"I'm over it Natara, I swear." You lie. "But if Captain sees you anywhere near this case, you're toast."

"Mal, I need to solve this for him. Please." She looks at you with those big brown eyes, and you want so badly to grab her arms, to feel those perfect pink lips underneath your own, and say the words that have been swiveling around in your head; _I love you._ "Please, Mal." She pleads with you again and you can feel your resolve weakening. Finally, you sigh.

"Fine."You whisper, turning around and striding to Maria's office, Natara following quickly on your heels. You throw the doors open and walk straight up to her desk, preparing yourself to fight. "Captain, I think that Natara should be in the case with me and Ken, so reinstate her." Maria turns to you and her eyebrow raises.

"And why should I do that?" She asks, folding her arms over her chest.

"Because if you don't, I'm off this case, Ken is off this case, and I will make sure that no detective goes anywhere near it." You ready yourself for the hell about to rain down on you. Maria's face darkens but she takes a deep breath and smiles.

"Why, Detective, very good negotiation skills." She sits and contemplates what you have just said. "Fine Natara, you can work on the Santos case."

"What?" You both cry, turning to each other and than back to Maria.

"I saw you out there Detective Fallon, you had no idea what you wee doing, and then Natara strolls in and we have a theory." Maria shrugs. " But let me make something perfectly clear. If this isn't solved quickly and quietly, I will have both of your badges as fast as you can say fired." She looks down and begins shuffling through paper work. "And another thing, if either of you step out of line again, you do not want to know what I will do." Finally she dismisses you.

You walk out of the office, your brain trying to comprehend what has just happened, while Natara grins at you.

"Wow Mal, that was really great." She says finally.

"Yeah, I guess." You say, "Just make sure that I didn't do that and almost get myself fired for no reason okay?"

"Okay." She reaches up wraps her arms around your neck, pressing her body against yours and spreading a comfortable warmth all over your skin. She lets go, but your arms are still around her waist, holding her close. You reach up and brush a strand of hair from her face, your palm cupping her soft cheek. She bites her lower lip and looks down.

"Sorry." You say, not letting go, not even knowing what your apologizing for. She looks back up at you, leaning in closer, her heart beating faster underneath her blouse.

"Mal, I-" She begins, but then you hear a cough from behind you.

* * *

><p><strong>You are Detective Ken Greene.<strong>

You scan through the papers about the Santos case while Mal and Natara go head to head with Captain.

"Why did somebody kill you?" You ask the picture of the beautiful teenage girl, smiling back at you. You look through again and suddenly, something catches your eye. You read about an investigation into a call girl ring centered in Middleton Ridge High School. Melanie had been in the heart of the investigation, along with her friends Krista Summers, Lauren Grangers and Ginny Lorain. The case had been dropped and the girls had been cooperative. It had happened so quickly, and didn't seem significant enough to even get into, which was probably why Mal overlooked it, that and sleep deprivation. _Maybe this has something to do with why she died, _you think to yourself_. _You go looking for Mal and Natara, hoping that you really are onto something. As you round the corner though, you see something that you never expected. Mal is holding Natara close, and they are looking into each others eyes in a way that you can only associate with one thing, love. You clear your throat and walk up to them, ruining the silent moment passing between them. You love Mal and Natara, but Oscar just lost his daughter and he needs someone who cares about him right now.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" You ask. Mal and Natara jump apart, a blush creeping up both their necks. Mal glares at you and shoot him back the same look.

"Umm, Ken, this isn't what it looks like." Natara says, flustered. She takes several steps away from Mal and looks down.

"Not what I wanted to talk to you guys about." You say. "Check out what I found." You hand Mal the papers, which he takes grudgingly. "Melanie was involved in an investigation at her school, along with three of her friends. The investigating officers believed that they were part of a call girl ring, but the case was dropped after about a week or two of questioning." As you talk, Natara takes the papers from Mal's hands and begins reading.

"So you don't think that Melanie's murder had anything to do with her father?" Mal asks. Suddenly Natara looks up, her face stricken.

"No, Ken thinks that Melanie was a prostitute."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Krista Summers.<strong>

You limp into your bedroom where your best friends Lauren Grangers and Ginny Lorain are waiting for you. They jump up and gather you in their arms, sending a sharp pain through your body.

"Krista, we were so worried." Lauren yelps, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Get off." You bark. You had endured the questions and tears from your parents and little brother, but you couldn't do it with these girls. They let go of you and help you to your bed.

"Sorry for being worried about the girl that was M.I.A for two weeks." Ginny said, folding her arms.

"This isn't the time for tearful hellos." You growl. "Somebody knows about what we've been doing. They killed Melanie, and their coming for us."


	3. What am I going to Do?

**You are now Detective Mal Fallon.**

You sit next to Natara as you drive to the morgue, ready to get a good look at the body that has taken over your life for the last three weeks. Natara silently stares ahead, refusing to look at you. You two haven't talked about what happened in front of Maria's office a week ago, when you had gotten so close to telling her how you fell. You're starting to think that maybe it all happened in a dream.

"So, how's Oscar?" You ask awkwardly.

"Fine, yeah, he's fine, I suppose." She says back. You both revert back to silence, not knowing what else to talk about.

You get to the morgue, maybe for the first time, and look for the medical examiner assigned to your case.

"Hi, I'm Detective Mal Fallon and I'm hear to see Melanie Santos's body." You say to the woman at the front desk, flashing her a charming smile and your badge.

"Awesome, you're right on time." A woman says from behind you, causing you to turn around.

"I'm guessing that you're the M.E working this case?" You smile, taking in her smooth, buttery, shoulder length hair, pale complexion, ocean blue eyes and slender figure that rivaled Natara's.

"If you had the chance to work with the Detective that solved the Maskmaker, Zero, and Shawn Mallory case, could you pass it up." She giggles flirtatiously, causing your smile to widen.

"Yeah, me and my partner did an excellent job on those cases." Natara says from the background, pushing you to the side to extend her hand to the M.E. "Special Agent Natara Williams." You laugh disbelievingly. _My God, could Natara actually be jealous._

"Kate Woodson." She says, taking Natara's hand in a firm shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Detective." She looks at you and then walks off you and Natara following. "Special Agent." She tacts on as an after thought.

"Did you see that." Natara gripes to you quietly as you two walk. "She completely ignored me, too busy making go-go eyes at you."

"Come on Natara, I mean, if you were as handsome as me, well then you could have all the attention you want." You like this, joking with her again as if your heart doesn't threaten to race out of your body every time you are around her.

"What. Ever." She says, elbowing you in the ribs quickly before speeding up her pace to match Kate's. Even though she's not walking next to you anymore, you can see the hint of a smile on her profile.

In the examining room, Kate pulls on a sterile gown, pulling at Melanie's body. You sober up when you see her, see the quick, clean cut across her throat, and the bruises all over her face.

"Ah hell." You say, touching the waxy cold skin that was stretched over her high cheekbones.

"She looks so much like Oscar in real life." Natara whispers, and you cringe, Oscar shoved back into the center of your mind.

"What was the cause of death?" You ask, realizing that it should have been Kai telling you all of this, and wondering where he is.

"You would think that it was the cut across her throat, but really, it was just for show. Melanie was asphyxiated with a rag covered in chloroform, and before that, she was tortured and beaten."

" So they tortured her, suffocated her and then waited until she was dead to slit her throat?" Natara asks.

"That's correct, but there is something interesting about her body."

"Yeah." You encourage, folding you arm across your chest.

"She had had sex before she was killed, maybe several hours before."

"That doesn't make any sense, Melanie didn't have a boyfriend." Natara touches your arm, and Kate looks down, her eyes trained to the spot with an eyebrow raised.

"She was a teenager, maybe she was hooking up with some kid." You offer. "You know how they are at that age, horny and stupid." Your eyes connect with Natara's for a split second, and a blush creeps up her cheek. Kate's grin widens.

"No, I don't think so. I think that this has to do with that investigation." She stammers, her hand still connected to your arm.

"I rather believe that she's hooking up with one kid than being a prostitute." You say.

"You guys go on and do your criminal, investigating stuff. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with a dead body." Kate says, smiling at you. She reaches over the table, takes a pen out of her pocket, grabs your free arm and scribbles into your hand. "But if you ever want me to examine anything else," she pauses, her head tilted, "you give me a call." You look down and see that she has written down her phone number in big, bubbly, handwriting.

"Definitely." You grin and watch as she walks away, her hips swaying seductively.

"Uch-hm." Natara clears her throat to the side, a frown screwing up her pretty features and her body no longer touching yours.

"Sorry." You say, looking down at your hand again, a goofy grin on your face.

"I think we need to talk to Melanie's friends about what was really going on in their lives." Natara says to you, grabbing the hand with the number and pulling you outside towards the door, rolling her eyes as she talked. "First on the list, Krista Summers."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Krista Summers.<strong>

You sit inside your bedroom, your friends gathered around you.

"Tell us again what happened Krista." Lauren says. You sigh and rub at the wound on your neck that has simmered down from a fierce pain to a dull ache.

"There was a woman. She blamed me for Melanie's death and then she pressed a knife to my neck." You shudder at the memory. "She told me that she needed me to do her a favor."

"And the favor was?" Ginny questioned.

"She wanted me to go to the police office and tell them that before Melanie died, someone was sending her threatening letters about her father, making it seem like...like she only died because he made contact with her recently."

"Well you have to do it." Lauren stands, taking to you forcefully now. "Come on, we can go now." You stare at the girl you thought was your best friend, seeing her truly for the first time.

"I was tortured for two weeks and all you care about is what this woman wanted? You'll obviously go to any length to protect yourself."

"She's coming for all of us, but thing is, this never would have happened if it wasn't for you, none of us would be into this." Ginny says, crossing her long legs.

"You wanted to do it too." You growl.

"Whatever. I'm not going to die for this, and definitely not for you, so either you go to the police, or I do." Lauren says, heading for the door. You are about to spit a comment back at her when the doorbell rings.

"My mom's asleep, I have to get that." You limp down the stairs and throw the door open. On the other side, a handsome youngish man and a pretty woman with black-brown hair stand there in front of you.

"Hello, are you Krista Summers?" The woman asks, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah? You're not sure what's going on, but you have a bad feeling about this.

"Well, I'm Special Agent Williams, and this is Detective Fallon, we would like to ask you some questions about your friend Melanie's murder." Your pulse quickens, and you want to slam the door, but you can't, you'll look too suspicious.

"Krista, can we come in?" Detective Fallon asks.

"Umm, yeah, definitely." You stammer, allowing them to walk through the door . "Let me go and walk up my mom, okay?"

"Yes, that's fine." Special Agent Williams says, going over to your living room and sitting down, the hot detective following. You walk up the stairs, every nerve in your body shaking. You don't know what you are going to do, or what you are going to say, but all you know is that you can't do what that woman wanted, you know you that it'll do more damage to yourself than good.

"What am I going to do?" You run your hands through your hair, looking back at the people who could ruin your life. "What am I going to do?"

**Sorry it's so short :)**


	4. The New Suspect

**You are now Detective Mal Fallon.**

You sit beside Natara as you wait for Krista to wake her mother up.

"Why do you think she needs her mother in this conversation?" Natara asks. "She's almost nineteen." She crosses her legs, bringing your attention all the way down to her slender thighs and firm calfs.

"Umm," You begin to say, your eyes still on her legs. She follows your gaze and then looks up smirking.

"Mal?" She says, bringing your attention upward.

"Yeah, sorry, um, maybe she wants to have someone around when she talks to us." You glance at the stairs. "A mother is as effective as a lawyer."

"Come on Mal, it's not like Krista Summers mother is Sarah Palin, a pit bull with lipstick." Natara jokes.

"Or maybe she is." You say, watching as a middle-aged woman marches down the stairs, her face covered in green goop and twisted into a scowl.

"Detective, Special Agent, is there a problem here?" Mrs. Summers asks.

"No, we just want to ask Krista some questions about her relationship with Melanie Santos." Natara stands and you follow.

"Should we call our lawyer, we wouldn't want to self incriminate ourselves." Mrs. Summers crosses her arms over her chest. You glance at Natara, sure that she is wondering why the Summers women are acting so guilty, the thought flashing through your head as well.

"No need." You say. "It's just a couple of questions."

"Fine, Krista, sit down." Both of the Summers women sit down on the coach opposite your own. "Ask us what you want to know."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Krista Summers.<strong>

You stare at the people that are sitting across from you and your mother. Your hand absent-mindedly wanders over to the scar on your neck, rubbing it and temporarily numbing the pain.

"How did you get that cut Krista?" Special Agent Williams asks.

"Ummm, I was shaving my chin and I cut myself." You blurt. Special Agent Williams brows furrow and she glances quickly at her partner. Your mom turns around to glare at you and then turns back to them.

"Special Agent," She begins.

"You can call me Natara."

"Natara, my daughter didn't want to mention this, explaining the lie, but she was missing for two weeks, and when she finally came back, she had a deep scar on her neck, was missing a lot of blood, was limping on her right leg, and had a bad bump on the back of her head." Natara looks at her partner.

"Mal, how come none of this was in the reports?" She asks.

"I can answer that. When she was missing, I thought she was staying with her father, we're divorced, but when she came back and I saw her condition, I knew that I was dead wrong." Your mom says.

"Krista, do you remember who kidnapped you?" Mal leans forward, and for the first time in this entire conversation, you relax, gazing into those big, warm eyes. A slow smile crosses his face when he realizes that your watching him.

"Krista, answer the question." Natara says, her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, I don't know who they were, I was locked in a dark room, and they never showed themselves fully."

"Is there anything distinctive about the environment or the person in the room that you remember?" Mal asks and again you feel your muscles relax as you listen to his deep baritone voice.

"Yeah, there was one thing. The person that tortured me was a woman." You say.

"Did she say anything that specifically stood out for you." Mal asks. You remember what she asked of you, to tell the police that it was her father's fault that Melanie died.

"No, she didn't really say anything, just laughed a lot, like she was getting off by me being in pain." You lie, a sick feeling growing in your stomach. You feel the color drain from your face as you remember those last two weeks, the worst fourteen days of your life.

"Please Natara, Mal, this has nothing to do with Melanie's murder, so stop making my daughter relive her pain."

"Of course." Natara says, turning back to you. "Krista, can you tell me what you and Melanie were into that could have gotten her killed?"

"Melanie was an angel. She was class president, captain of the dance, softball, and volleyball team, hell, she was the head of the abstinence group." You say, your eyes tearing up for the first time as you think of Melanie, the first time that you are actually crying about the one true friend that you had. "She would never do anything that would make someone want to kill her." You lie, feeling that sick feeling in your stomach grown stronger.

"Well, was there anybody new in her life?" Mal asks.

"She did start dating the head of the football team, Marcus Liam." You turn around and see that Lauren and Ginny are climbing down the stairs. "Everyone knows that Marcus is a violent S.O.B when he gets drunk." Lauren continues. You stare at her, wondering how these two girls can lie so smoothly.

"Sometimes, Melanie would come to my house and she'd have bruises on her body. She was always a hysterical mess." Ginny said, sitting down next to you.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara WIlliams.<strong>

You watch the three young girls on the opposite side of you, and wonder if they are telling the truth. Nothing in the report said anything about Marcus, her mother had no idea that she was seeing someone, and with the hectic schedule that Melanie had, how would she even have time for a boyfriend? Plus, Krista had put an extra hold in the fact that Melanie had supposedly been abstaining.

"Is this true Krista?" You ask. She squirms in her chair, and her hand goes back to the scar, the one that is almost identical to Melanie's to the naked eye. You can tell that she wants to say no, but then she glances at Mal, much to your irritation, and smiles.

"Yes, Melanie was dating Marcus." You glance at Mal and then stand up.

"Thank you for your time ladies." You stand, and Mal follows.

"No, thank you for your time." The girl next to Krista says, grinning at Mal. Each girl gets up and writes their number on an empty space on Mal's arm. You and Mal stroll out of the house, and once outside, Mal bursts out in laughter.

"My God, I must have gotten a good nights sleep or something because these women are swarming me like flies."

"Mal, we have a murder to solve." You say, rolling your eyes and feeling a big pit of jealousy opening up on the bottom of your stomach.

"Right, right, I'm sorry." Mal chuckles, wiping away the tears that had started to dot the corner of her eyes. "So you wanna go pick up this Marcus kid?"

"I don't know, there's something about this story that doesn't make sense." You say, walking to the car and getting into the passenger side and sitting down. "Krista said that nobody would want to hurt Melanie, yet once her friends came into the room, it was as if they had seen Marcus Liam hold the cloth that killed her themselves."

"These girls just lost a friend."

"And yet, they can still go and flirt with you." You point at him.

"Why Special Agent Williams, are you, pray-tell, jealous?" Mal teases

"Whatever Detective." You blush. "Let's go and pick up this kid." You snarl, but you feel the pull of a smile on your lips. You're happy that you can still joke around with him, even after what happened in front of Maria's office. For the past three weeks, after Oscar's fallen asleep, you remember how it felt to have Mal's arms around your waist, and his chest pressed to your own. "Maybe we'll actually get lucky."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Marcus Liam.<strong>

You laugh with your friends while you take vodka shots and play beer pong in your basement.

"So dude, what happened with that chick you were dating?" Your friend Tony asks, gulping down a can of beer.

"Ugh, I don't know, she just stopped calling me. But to be honest she isn't even worth my time, slut thought she was too good for me, when she wasn't good enough for the weirdo murderers in T.V shows." You laugh, pretending that it didn't sting to be rejected.

"That was some terrible timing." A man says from behind you. You turn around and frown at the official looking man standing next to a very hot looking woman.

"Who are you man? You slur, frowning.

"I'm Detective Fallon, and this is my partner Special Agent Williams." Someone from the crowd coughs out "hot" and there is a snicker.

"Marcus, we would like to talk to you about the murder of Melanie Santos." Something inside of you freezes and chills travel up and down your spine.

"What?" You cry. "Melanie can't be dead."

"I'm sorry Marcus, she is." You can't take this, you can't handle the news, and suddenly, you're blinded by rage.

"No, NO." You reach for your glass and lob it at the detectives head. It nearly misses, but in that time, you race away, pushing through the crowd, just wanting to be alone. You hear them chasing you, but you're younger, faster, and no matter how drunk you are, stronger.

"Marcus, stop!" The woman cries.

"Screw you." You yell back, your anger and sadness making your legs pump faster. You slow down long enough to lob an empty vodka bottle at their heads. You hear a swear and then the click of a gun. Suddenly, you calf explodes in pain and you can't run anymore. You fall and clutch your leg, hoping to stop the pain.

"Good shot." The detective says to his partner.

"Thanks." She says, blowing her hair out of her face. "Marcus Liam, we have some questions to ask you." She says to you, her voice fading away as everything goes hazy. "The most important being, did you kill Melanie Santos?"

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

After getting Marcus to the hospital, you say good-bye to Natara and then look down at your hand, grinning. You drive home but don't stay there to long. As much as you would rather be with Natara, she has Oscar, she chose him, so why not have a little fun yourself?

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Kate Woodson.<strong>

"I'm surprised that you called." You say, smiling as the dashing Mal Fallon strolls into your office.

"How could I not?" He says, leaning against the wall. "I was wondering whether or not you would like to go and get a drink with me?" You look down at the dead body in front of you, push it back into the wall and take off the gown.

"Only if you're buying." You flirt, walking up to him.

"Excellent." Before he starts walking though, you grab his hand, pull him close to you and touch your lips lightly to his, your hand cupping his cheek.

"I want you to know that I want to have fun." You say, He grins and then deepens the kiss, his hand going into your hair.

"Then let's forget about that drink." He says.


	5. Breakfast and Bed

**You are now Detective Mal Fallon.**

You wake up with the sun streaming into your eyes, and something warm pressed into your right side. You groggily sit up, trying to remember the night before.

"Hey, you're awake." A female voice says from beside you and remember what happened. You had gone to the medical examiner's office and asked Kate Woodson to a drink with her, due to wanting to forget about Natara, and the night had taken a very good turn. You guys had headed back to her apartment, she had opened up a bottle of some very fine scotch, and then they had moved their party to the bedroom.

"Mmmm, yeah I am." You say, wrapping your arm around her shoulders and lightly kiss the top of her head.

"Do you feel like breakfast?" She asks, sitting up and nestling into your side.

"Yeah, what did you have in mind?" You ask.

"There's a diner right by my apartment, and they have the best pancakes."

"Sounds great." You say, tilting her chin up so that you're staring into those amazing blue eyes of hers. You kiss her lightly and she deepens the kiss, breakfast temporarily forgotten.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You wake up next to a snoring Oscar, your eyes bloodshot and a headache growing as you roll out of bed. You had slept in an awkward position since Oscar had decided to take up most of the bed, and the snoring had been so loud that you had woken up on more than one occasion. You slip out of bed and walk into the kitchen in your apartment, go to make your coffee, and then realize that Oscar had finished the last of it without buying more. Groaning, you go and shower, washing your hair quickly and then stepping out of the door without waking Oscar. While walking to your car, your phone goes off, turning your headache into a full blown migraine. "Hello." You answer grumpily.

"Natara?"Maria asks. "Is that you?"

"Yes captain. What do you need to talk about?" You ask, driving to the Starbucks nearest to your house.

"I need you and Mal in the hospital now talking to the Liam boy." She says.

"He's out of surgery?" You ask, walking into the coffee shop quickly and waiting on the massive line for your caramel-mocha latte.

"Yes, your shot was a through and through, didn't hit any bone or damage any major arteries."

"Good." You say. "Okay, me and Mal can swing by the hospital."

"And once your done, report directly back to the precinct, Melanie Santos's mother is coming in later."

"Got it."Twenty minutes later, you get into your car, dialing Mal's number.

"Hello" He picks up on the second ring. You glance at the clock and see the neon red clock on your dashboard, the numbers eight-thirty flashing quickly to every couple of seconds. You frown, noticing that his voice was way to chipper for somebody that wouldn't be up before twelve if he didn't have to. "Natara?" He asks.

"Umm, yeah, hey Mal." You say, starting your car, "Captain wants us in the hospital to talk to Marcus. I have my car so I can come and pick you up if you want."

"I'm not at home Nat," He laughs, and you hear a peal of giggles coming from the background. You feel something in your gut constrict, but you keep on going.

"Well, tell me where you are and I can pick you up." You say, starting your car and taking a sip of your caffeine, hoping that it will help your heart start beating again. He lists the address and you begin the drive, starting to feel a deep despair with every inch you drive.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

You sit across a diner table, laughing as Kate plays around with her bacon. She's in the middle of telling you a story about her older brother and the first date she brought home.

"Oh my gosh, by the time I gotten down to my living room, he was shaking some much that he couldn't even take my hand, and when he finally did, the inside of his palm were so sweaty, my hand slipped right out." You take a sip of your coffee, but you can tell your eyes are twinkling and winking with laughter, and so can she because her grin widens.

"How do you know that he wasn't just nervous about going on a date with such a pretty girl?" You ask, and watch as she blushes, her cheeks filling with a pretty rose color.

"Stop, you're making me blush." She says, glancing down, but reaching over and taking your hand with a shy smile crossing her face.

"You know, these pancakes really are the best I have ever tasted." You say, changing the subject but never letting go of her hand. To be truthful, it's been one day and yet, you like Kate, a lot. She's fun to be around, and so uncomplicated that it's hard to stay away from her. She's beautiful, funny, and one of the best that you've ever had in the bed.

"Told you so." She says, grinning. "But, my steak and egg omelet is pretty amazing." She says.

"You want to let me try?" You raise an eyebrow and shoot her your most charming smile."I don't know. It's a pretty hard choice to make." She adopts a thoughtful expression. "Hot guy, or delicious omelet, hot guy, delicious omelet." She deliberates, but laughs when you shoot her your best puppy dog expression."Okay, hot guy wins." She cuts of a piece and leans over to place it in your mouth. You chew and let the flavors fill your mouth.

"Delicious." You say, and then go back to your food.

"Hey, jerkwad, what about a fair trade?" Kate asks before opening her own mouth. You smirk and cut off a piece, making sure that it is filled with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. You feed it to her, but the whipped topping drips off and lands on her chin. You can barely contain your laughter as she chews oblivious.

"Ummm, Kate, you have something." You point to her chin, but she just gazes back at you with a confused expression on her face.

"What?" She asks, and this time you don't control your laughter. Kate finally gets the picture, and grabs a napkin, but she still doesn't get it, so you lean over the table and press your lips against the whipped cream spot. You go to sit down again, but she stops you, and kisses away the remaining whipped cream from your lips. You look into each others eyes and you can't hep but smile.

"Ech-hmm." A voice says to the side of your booth, ruining the perfect moment. You look over, and see Natara standing there awkwardly.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You stand by the booth where your partner and his date, the medical examiner you had met the day before, are eating breakfast. You notice with a sinking feeling that she is wearing the button down that he had on yesterday, and he is only wearing a t-shirt. You are about to bring attention to yourself when Mal leans over the table and kisses some whipped cream away from Kate's chin, and she returns the favor by getting the rest of the whipped topping from his lips with hers. It may be the single most intimate thing that you have ever seen Mal do, including the moment that had passed between you two in front of Maria's office. You can't watch their cutesy, "Oh, we're so in love" routine for another second, so you cut in.

"Ech-hmm." You say, clearing your throat loudly.

"Nat, hey!" Mal says, sitting back down, grabbing a napkin, and dabbing it across his lips, his big, pink, soft-looking lips, the ones taunting you because they were just attached to someone else. "You came quick."

"Well, some people remember that we have murder investigation to think about, and are thinking about suspects and not whether or not we want more orange juice." You say, the sound of your voice much harsher than you intended. Mal's eyebrows draw together and he looks at you with a mix of what you know to be anger and concern.

"What's wrong Nat?" He asks, his voice so warm and his eyes so blue that you almost fall into the booth and tell him everything, from your mixed emotions to the growing feelings that you have for him. Of course nothing comes out, and instead you turn to Kate, who is watching you with intrigue covering her beautiful features.

"And you are…?" She says when she notices you watching her.

"Special Agent Williams? We met yesterday at the same exact time as you met Mal?" You say disbelievingly.

"Oh, right, my bad." She laughs, the sound sending your migraine into something so painful and irritating that it doesn't even have a word. "Sorry, it's just that when we met, I had Mr. Fallon over there on my mind." She reaches over and squeezes his arm. He briefly turns to smile at her, but then looks back at you, the concern/anger combination still on his face.

"Seriously Nat, what's wrong?" He repeats.

"Absolutely nothing, except that we're still in this diner when we have a boy to talk to about a murder." You say, and this time you make sure that your voice is softer, kinder than it was before.

"On that note, I'll let you leave. I can always pack up your pancakes if you want to eat it later." Kate says, and your body nearly rakes with revulsion.

"No, it's okay. It is going to be a busy day and I'll probably have to pick something up to eat in a couple of hours, but I'll call you if we can get together for dinner."Okay." They both stand, and Mal places a quick kiss on her cheek, snaking his arm around her waist and giving a quick little squeeze. You feel envious and sad and angry and possessive, and everything you have no right to feel, but you bury them as deep as you can inside your heart, steel your emotions and smile, walking out of the diner along side the two lovebirds.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

You sit shotgun in Natara's car, fiddling with the radio while Natara sits silently in the driver's seat. You can't seem to find anything good playing, so you switch it off and lean back into your chain, folding your arms.

"So, I didn't know that you and Kate were close. Yesterday, it seemed like you had just met for the first time." Natara says.

"Oh, yeah, we did just meet yesterday, but then I asked her out for drinks and we ended up in her apartment." You shrug. "I like her, she's simple, uncomplicated, and all she wants is to have some fun, something I desperately need right now, considering the divorce and everything with Os-" You stop yourself just as your about to say something incredibly stupid about her relationship with Oscar.

"Os-?" Natara asks, confused.

"Yeah, I was going to say, everything happening with the Santos case, but then remembered Santos starts with an S." You laugh self-deprecatingly, mentally slapping yourself for begin so damn stupid. Natara is silent for the next couple of minutes before she starts again.

"I guess you have a type." She says. and you turn to watch her profile, noticing how her jaw clenches and unclenches."What?" You ask."You have a type. Long legs, blond hair, pretty smile." She says, rattling off a list of all the features you have always found attractive.

"So?" You frown.

"So, I think that it has something to do with your mother. She was blond and you loved her, so now you go around looking for the features that made her what she was, physically of course." She says, the profiler in her coming out to play yet again.

"Actually, my mother was a brunette."

"But that picture I saw of her, the one in your wallet, she was blond." Natara argues.

"She dyed it for a little bit, but then she went back to her brunette ways. You turn back to the front of the car. "It was actually the same color as yours." The rest of the ride is spent in awkward silence.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Marcus Liam.<strong>

You lie down in an uncomfortable hospital bed and try to ignore the searing pain in your leg, but to no avail. The pain from the bullet hole pulses to the same beat as your heart. You turn to the t.v, trying to forget it's there, instead opting to dive into the drama of the three o' clock soap opera. After a couple of minutes, you mind snakes to Melanie, the girl that you thought was your best friend, the girl that you could have had a life with, and the pain comes back, only now into your heart. You think about the last time you say Melanie, how she cried before cupping your chin and kissing you lightly on the lips, her tears salting your tongue. She had whispered her proclamation of love before disappearing into the darkness, not giving you enough time to say it back.

You feel yourself drifting into a troubled sleep, your mind taking the time to create every horrible event it can about the way Melanie died. First, she's pushed off a building, always screaming for you to save her, but you are frozen, incapable of moving. You hear the dull thud of her lifeless body hitting the ground. You want to scream, want to call out, but you can't. The image plays over and over, your heart racing faster and faster overtime she dies. Suddenly, something hits your feet and you jolt awake. Standing at the edge of your bed are the police officers that shot you. You feel rage flare up inside your body, but that gives way to the sadness you feel.

"Marcus, how are you feeling?" The woman asks, folding her arms over her chest. For the first time, you have no yearning to look down at her chest, like normal, instead, yearning for Melanie.

"Like you care, you f'in shot me." You say gruffly.

"You were a threat to my partner and myself." The man says, and you don't like him already.

"Was not." You say.

"Was so." He says.

"Was not." The three year old inside of you sticking out his tiny tongue.

"You lobbed a shot glass at me head." He says, sticking out his arms incredulously.

"Well, you shot me."

"Well, you deserved it, you son-of-a-"

"Mal." The woman next to him says sharply.

"Sorry. Marcus, the shot was completely merited." He grits his teeth.

"Whatever douche-bag." You roll onto your sides.

"Natara, please, can I shoot him this time, in a much more vital body part." Mal says quietly.

"NO Mal, NO." She reprimands. "Marcus, this isn't a get well soon visit, we're here to talk about the death of your girlfriend Melanie Santos."

"Melanie Santos wasn't my girlfriend, we just went out a couple of times, and we hooked up and stuff." You say, your throat catching.

"Really, because her friends seem to think that you two were more involved." Mal say, and you turn around.

"Well, those friends of her a dirty liars as well as sluts." You roll all the way around and glare at him.

"What do you mean?" Natara asks.

"It means, that they know that me and Melanie were completely casually, hell the persuaded me to be friends with the damn girl, said that she needed some fun in her life." You feel your heart sink, and pain flash across your face.

"You wanted to be more than that though, more than friends, didn't you?" Natara asks. You frown and turn to Mal.

"She's a profiler, kind of like a mind reader."

Mal shrugs."Yeah, I liked Melanie, a lot, and she liked me too, but her friends thought I was bad news, okay to be friends with, and even to hook up with, but never more than that, never seriously date, so they pushed us apart." You remember her saying she loved you before running away.

"Apart?" Mal asks.

"You know, told her to stop calling me, to stop taking my calls." You shrug.

"Well, with good reason." Natara says. "One of her friends told us about you physically assaulting her."

"Are you kidding me, they told you that." You scoff. "Look, I was drunk and she came up to me, telling me that I should get tested. What her stupid little friends didn't know was that we were really serious behind the curtains. We would go to actually places together and our anniversary was coming up. I had stopped sleeping around when I got with her. I asked her why, because I knew that I wasn't screwing anybody else, right? But then she goes and tells me that she's been sleeping with other people, for, like, cash. She hadn't wanted to tell me, and her friends told her not to because it could get them in trouble for doing it too, and I got pissed. I pushed her a couple of times, threw a cup at her face, and she ran away crying. We had patched it up the week before she was found dead."

"Wait, she was sleeping with guys, for money?" Natara asks. You can almost see the cogs in her brain turning, telling her you are innocent. She quickly checks her watch and frowns. "Mal, we need to get to the precinct."

"Fine, but Marcus," He addresses you, "don't leave town, oh wait, what am I saying, you can't go anywhere." He smirks, and you want to punch him, but you don't. You go back to thinking about Melanie.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You get to the precinct, trying to understand all the pieces of this case, but they're not fitting together.

"Nothing Krista Summers and her friends have said make any sense." You say, talking to Mal."They said that Marcus had a history of violence, yet, he only hurt Melanie once, and they made Melanie sound so innocent."

"When really she was a prostitute." Mal finishes.

"My daughter was a what?" A woman says from behind you, and you realize your mistake.

"Mrs. Santos."You cringe.

"Please, it's Anna Marina, I kept Oscar's last name for Melanie so if she ever wanted to find him, she could."She says. You nod to the seat behind her, and once she sits, you sit down across from her.

"Ms. Marina, we are so sorry for your loss, but we have found something about you daughter which leads us to believe that Melanie may have been involved in a prostitution ring at her school, along with her friends Krista, Lauren and Ginny." Anna frowns.

"Are you sure it had nothing to do with her father, he had just recently reached out to her you know."

"No, we firmly believe that this is the strongest lead that we have in Melanie's case."

"My baby girl, a prostitute, I don't understand. She was such a good person."

"Were you in need of money?" Mal asks.

"No, I had her college tuition under control, and the bills were all being paid." Anna wipes away a tear from her eye. "Just, please, find who did this to her, please bring my baby some justice."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

After your meeting with Anna Marina, you spend the rest of the day trying to piece together who would hurt Melanie, and why, from what you and Natara learned from Marcus and her mother. It is a long day, and you spend it trying to understand the psychology of a prostitute and avoiding the random glares Natara sends your way at random points of the day. Finally, it's close to eleven o'clock, and you are ready to go home. You stroll out the door with Natara by your side, but before you part ways, you stop her, grabbing her arm.

"Hey, what's with the daggers you were shooting my way today?" You ask, concerned. She sighs and then smiles at you.

"I don't know, maybe I was just tired, it's just been a long day." Her smile widens into a grin. "But, I'll make it up to you with a round of drinks, on me." You want to say yes, but then you remember Kate and how she kissed away the whipped cream away from your lips, and it makes it easier to say...

"Sorry, I can't, I promised Kate I'd call her if their was still enough time to grab some dinner." You smile, and wave good-bye.

"Oh, okay, see you tomorrow."You turn, never seeing the way Natara's face falls.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You enter your apartment, and see Oscar is sleeping. The room is a mess, but you could care less. You strip out of your clothes and go straight to bed, never feeling so lonely.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Kate Woodson.<strong>

"I am so glad you called." You say, taking a piece of chicken from the chinese food container that Mal holds.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asks. You remember the way that his partner looked at him when he leaned over to kiss you, and the way he had watched her when you had first met them. You don't voice your throats, instead you shrug, not answering his question. You finish dinner quickly and then turn seductively to Mal.

"So, how about we start off now, where we finished off yesterday night?" You unbutton Mal's shirt on button at a time and then slip out of your shorts. You see the hunger in his yes, and it's not long before your in his arms and his lips are on yours. He lifts you up and you throw your head back and laugh as he carries you to your bedroom.


	6. Oscar the Douche

**You are now Krista Summers.**

You wake up in a familiar cold room and a sinking feeling open up in the pit of your stomach. Your head is pounding and you can't remember the events from the night before. You shut your eyes, partly to stop some of the throb in your brain, and partly to think. You know that you were at a sleepover at Lauren's. You were all sitting around a bowl of popcorn, not saying anything. It was the first time that it was just the three of you. Melanie had always been in the room, making you laugh, or giving someone a facial, and it puts a damper on the party spirit. You had felt a wall in between the three of you, Lauren and Ginny on one side, and you on the other. They were mad that you didn't do exactly what the woman had asked, and scared that they were next. Your body washes with cold dread as you realize that they were right. The lights had turned off, Lauren had screamed, and something heavy had collided with the back of your head, and then everything else disappeared.

"Why Krista, how nice of you to finally wake up." The woman says, and you turn to her, grimacing at the movement.

"Why have you brought me back here?" You stammer, fear coursing through your veins.

"You disappointed me Krista. I asked you for one tiny favor, and you couldn't do it." The woman tsks and you hear her walking forward.

"I wouldn't lie for you." You say, feeling braver for being somewhat defiant. "And neither would Melanie, which is probably why you killed her."

"Look who's being smart." The woman says coldly. "Does that mean you can guess what I'm going to do to you, and your little friends?"

"My friends?" You hear the tremor in your voice and clear your throat. You look down next to you, and see a very pale girl lying next to you. "Ginny." You cry, reaching over to see if she has a pulse, but stopping as the pain from your head rakes throughout your entire body. You look to your other side and see Lauren, how her head is bent in at a terrible angle, almost unnaturally.

"They're alive, but barely. I wanted you to get a good look at them before you die, and know that their deaths were caused by you." You know she's lying, you see how still they are, how cold they look. You know they're dead.

"No, NO." You scream, ignoring the stabbing pain now, "I had nothing to do with their deaths, please let us go." You hear what you have said and quickly amend your sentence. "Please let me go."

"It is because of you all this happened, know that Krista." The woman says, ignoring your pleas and stepping into the small sliver of light shining into the room, letting you know its day time and surprise ripples through your brain.

"Wait, Ms.-" Before you can say her name, she is on top of you, holding you down, slamming your head into the hard concrete repeatedly and pressing a damp cloth into you nose and mouth. You try to fight, to claw at her face, but she's so incredibly strong, and you are in so much pain. You know this is going to be the end, so you use every last inch of your strength to keep your eyes open, knowing that she will always remember the look in your eyes as she killed you. Your body burns for oxygen, and you feel something popping somewhere in your body, maybe your eyes, maybe a lung, but thankfully you stop feeling pain. You don't feel anything.

You have died.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

"Ah, hell." You say grimly as you walk around Lauren Grangers bedroom, looking at the three young girls body splayed haphazardly over the carpet. Natara walks in and sees Krista Summers and her two friends, her face quickly falling. She walks over to Krista and kneels down, tracing her cheek lightly.

"Her eyes are open." She says to you. "She fought to keep her eyes open so that we would know how scared she was, how much she feared dying." You look at Ginny Lorain and Lauren.

"They didn't see it coming though." You see the peaceful expressions on their faces, almost like they had been sleeping.

"She wanted Krista awake for some reason." Natara says.

"She wanted to punish Krista for something, wanted her to feel afraid, and to feel pain." You say and Natara stands.

"These poor girls." She whispers. You look into her eyes and see how much sorrow is buried into them.

"This wasn't out fault Natara." You say, knowing that she blamed herself for their deaths.

"It's my job to be able to read people Mal. These girls were hiding something, something big, but I didn't see it and now they're dead." Natara shakes her head. "So even though I didn't personally kill each girl, it is my fault they died." You feel your heart break as tears pool in Natara's eyes and you reach over and gather her in your arms. You can tell there is something more about this case that is getting to her, but you don't push, you just let her cling to you and pull herself together.

Suddenly, Kai bursts through the doors, and excited look on his face.

"Hey you guys, I am so glad to be back!" He exclaims before seeing you and Natara in a tender embrace. "Oh, if I'm interrupting, I'll come back."

"No, Kai, it's fine." Natara says, quickly detangling herself from your hold. You have the impulse to smack Kai upside the head, but stand next to your partner and glare, letting him know that yes, he was interrupting, and that it wouldn't be forgiven easily. He squirms uncomfortably underneath your gaze for a couple of seconds before turning to Natara.

"So anyway, I was here a bit earlier, and I found the cause of death for each girl." He says.

"Wait, each?" You ask, anger temporarily forgotten. "They were all killed differently."

"Yes." Kai says, walking to each girl. "Let's start with Miss Bendable here."

"Kai." Natara says sharply.

"Sorry, Lauren Grangers." Kai says sheepishly. "Her death was the quickest. Her neck was snapped first, making her the first to be killed. Then came Ginny Lorain. Come look." You walk close to Ginny's body, looking down at her. She's about the same age as Denni, your niece, and it kills you a little bit to know that she can never become anything, become anyone.

"What was the cause of death?" You ask, clearing your throat with a quick cough. Natara glances at you.

"You see these two marks on her neck, it shows that she was injected with something. Considering that there are no other signs of anything that could cause her death, I think she was injected with a lethal dose of a very powerful drug, but I won't know until I get her blood work. Finally, there's Krista. She was killed the same way as Melanie, with a rag over her mouth. Besides that though, I found massive head trauma, most likely from being banged against something hard, like concrete, repeatedly. This was probably the longest murder to perform, and most painful for the victim, seeing that she was awake, and already injured. I'll be able to get you time of death and what Ginny was drugged with once I get back to the lab."

"So, you're taking over all the physical stuff with the bodies now?" Natara asks, a little too nonchalantly in your opinion. It's your turn to glance at her.

"Yeah, why?" Kai asks.

"Oh, no reason, it's just that we had to go to the M.E's office for a medical examiner, so it's more convenient if you're doing the case." She says, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"It's a damn shame though. You would have loved the medical examiner we got, she was hot as hell." You say.

"Awww, and I missed her?" Kai whines.

"Yeah, but it's okay." You walk by Natara, but stop just long enough to smile and wink. "I've already called dibs, like four times." Natara's face wrinkles up in disgust, and you can't help but laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You head back to the precinct, a small smile playing across your lips as Mal sings along to the radio. You want to sing to, but the murders, along with Mal's words, keep looping through your head. What did he mean by he called dibs, did he really have sex with Kate after meeting her a couple of days ago, or was he just trying to get a rise out of you, and if so, why? You feel like you have to talk, have to get some of your thoughts out into the open, so you opt for the ones that coincide with the case.

"Why kidnap Krista and her friends, kill Ginny and Lauren in an almost humane why and then kill Krista so viciously?" You wonder out loud.

"I don't know, if you were a psychotic serial killer, would your actions make sense?" Mal asks.

"Mal, you've worked with enough serials to know that the way that they kill always makes sense, we just have to find how." You say.

"Well, we know that the prostitution ring is at the very heart of the case, and we know that the four girls were the one's involved, so maybe it has to do with the order that they joined?" Mal guesses, and you nod, hoping that that could be it. You pull into the police station parking lot and sigh.

"It won't matter if we know why the murderer is killing in this way if we don't know what we're looking for." You say.

"Right, let's go draw up a profile, and by we, I mean you while I stand there and look handsome." He grins and you can't help but to mirror the image of his smiling face.

"Come on, Mr. Handsome." You tease, getting out of the car and strolling into the bullpen.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

Walking into the bullpen, you feel better than you did at the house, and you're sure Natara feels better too. You realize that the reason that this case hits so close to home for Natara is because she was this age when her friend was murdered, this age when she decided that she wanted to stop other people from getting hurt like she once was. You feel the strange urge to protect her so that she never has to feel that way again, and you're just glad that she's walking by your side.

"Oh my god." She stops dead in her tracks, causing you to bump into her. You're confused at first, but then you realize what's going. The bullpen is in a state of complete and total chaos, with Oscar right in the center of it.

"First my daughter is found dead, and you don't want to tell me about it, and now, she turns out to be a prostitute and nobody had the decency to tell me." He yells, grabbing a stack of papers and throwing them angrily onto the ground. Natara rushed forward and grabs his arm, pulling him quickly to her desk.

"Oscar, what the hell do you think you are doing?" She spits out angrily.

"I'm working this case now." He says simply. "That way, I'll always be informed on the information pertaining my daughter's death."

"You can't do that." You say from behind Natara, your arms folded.

"Really, because I asked your captain, and she said, as long as I'm not in the way, that I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Well, you being a complete and total douche out there showed that you definitely won't be getting into anybody's way." You glare, and he scowls back.

"Mal." Natara says, her voice colder than it has ever been towards you.

"What Nat, isn't it true?" You ask, turning to look at her.

"Let me handle it." She says, looking back at Oscar. "Oscar, nobody told you about your daughter because we have no solid proof that that is what she was doing." Natara says her voice soothing.

"Don't give me that Natara. Imagine if you had a daughter and you had to hear about her," He sighs, "Extracurricular activities from the news."

"Oscar, please understand that we are right on this case, that we will find who killed Melanie and her friends." You say.

"Please, I think that I can be a bit more helpful to Natara than a man named Malacci." Oscar scoffs, his voice leering.

"Oscar!" Natara cries. You feel anger surge through your body, and you want nothing more to punch him in his smug little face, but than you remember, he just lost his daughter. You wonder for a second how Natara would think about you is you laid him out on the floor and then realize that it would be a bad idea.

"It's okay Natara, welcome on board Oscar." You say, extending your hand, your jaw clenched. He looks at your and then walks out, leaving you angry, and Natara disbelieving.

"Thank you Mal." She says softly.

"He gets in my way, I'm not responsible for my actions." You growl, walking away from Natara without another look. You walk out, clenching your fist, a scowl on your face. You need to get ride of your anger, and you know the perfect way to do it. Pulling out your cell phone, you dial a number, the stress in your body leaving immediately you hear her voice.

"Hey Mal." Kate says.

"I need to see you, can we meet up?" You ask.

"Absolutely." She purrs, and your anger completely flushes out, a smile playing across your lips.

"Meet me at my place in fifteen." You say, hanging up. You look back quickly at Natara, noticing as she watches after you, an expression on her face making you want to stop. But she has Oscar, and you need to move on, something that you plan on doing.


	7. A Bullet For Your Thoughts, Boom

**You are now Natara Williams.**

You watch as Mal walks away, torn between wanting to run after him and going to Oscar. You do the next best thing and find Captain Maria Yeong.

"Captain!" You exclaim as you burst into her office.

"Special Agent." She says, regarding you with a quiet annoyance.

"Why in the world would you allow Oscar to work on his own daughter's murder investigation?" You yell. Maria stands up quickly and you realize that you may have overstepped.

"Because, Special Agent, this is my police force, and I can choose who works with whom on what case." She says sharply. "What I do not understand is why you think I have to explain my actions to you. Now if you don't mind, I would like you to get the hell out of my office, NOW." She says sternly. You feel a flush of shame as you walk out with you tail between your legs. As you walk back into the bullpen, Detective Ken Greene walks up to you, his face covered in amusement.

"That was quite a show your boy put on earlier." He says, laughter hidden in his deep voice.

"Oscar is NOT my boy." You say firmly. You go sit down by your desk and Ken follows. Groaning, you rest your elbows on your knees and rub your temples.

"Agent Super-Fine, you alright?" Ken asks. You glare up at him quickly, but look back down warily.

"No Ken, I'm not." You say. "Three more girls were killed, and Oscar is going to be a nuisance at best and a complete and utter distraction for Mal and me." You sigh and stand up. "He cannot work this case with me Ken. I need to find out who did this to these girls, and it's hard enough focusing with Mal around." You rant. Ken looks at you with concern in his eyes and then pats you reassuringly on the shoulders.

"How about I see if I can get Santos off your case." Ken says. You look up at him, relief flooding your body.

"Thanks Ken. I really appreciate this." You let out a big breath of air. "Now, I should probably go and see if Kai found out what one of my victims were killed with." You send him a grateful smile before walking over to Oscar.

"Natara, about my outburst-"He begins.

"I do not want to hear it Oscar. We're going to the tech lab and you are not going to step out of line at all while we're down there, or you can go and sleep at your place tonight." You growl, walking past him as you speak, hearing as he follows you. "Understood?"

"Understood."

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

"I'm surprised you could just slip away from work." Kate says to you, her lips trailing down your neck. You smile as you open a champagne bottle, pouring it into two glasses.

"I'm sure they aren't missing me." You say, your mind drifting over quickly to Natara and wiping the smile clean off your face. Kate notices and disentangles herself from you, watching you with a concerned face.

"I don't think you stole away from work because you wanted some afternoon loving Mal." She says jokingly. "What's the matter?" You look over at the woman that sits next to you, and realize how unfair your being to her. You know without a doubt in your mind that you are in love with Natara, yet you're sitting here with Kate.

"It's…it's everything." You sigh. You reach over and take Kate's hand in yours. "Kate, I really like you, but I'm in love with my partner." You flinch as Kate's face falls.

"I figured as much. If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure that she's in love with you too." She shoots you a soft sad smile as she leans over and kisses you softly on the lips. The pressure increases and soon you find yourself kissing her back. After a few minutes, you pull back.

"I don't get it." You say, your head reeling from the kiss, and what she had said before about Natara. "I just broke up with you and yet…"

"Just because we aren't together, doesn't mean we can't have some fun." She says, leaning back over and kissing you, her hand resting on your shoulder. You realize what she's saying, wondering slightly if you go through with this, if forgetting about Natara for a couple of hours is really worth using this incredible woman, but then she's unbuttoning you shirt, and you mind shuts off completely.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You call Mal on his cell phone, wondering what the hell happened to him and why he's been gone so long.

"Mal, I don't think Captain would be okay with a two hour coffee break." You hiss. "Am I mistaken, or did you forget that we happen to be working a murder investigation?" You sigh and some of the anger starts to drain out of you. "Look Mal, I know you're not thrilled about Oscar working with us, but there's nothing I can do about it so, if you get this, come to 227 Diagon Road, we found the place where all four girls were murdered." You hang up and walk over to your car, frowning when you notice that Oscar is sitting in the passenger seat, Mal's seat. He's huddled over, fiddling with the radio and looking for a station that he likes. You get in the car, start it, and shut off the radio in the process.

"No music." You bark, backing out of the parking lot and driving, your hands clamped over the steering wheel and squeezing hard.

"Natara," Oscar groans. "Why are you so upset with me?" You glance over at him disbelieving.

"Are you kidding me?" You ask. "You completely embarrassed me in front of my peers, pissed my partner off and now you're in my car asking me completely idiotic questions." You face forward, jaw clenched. "You should be asking me why I'm not upset with you."

"I knew it," Oscar sighs. ", this about that moronic partner of your."

"This has absolutely nothing to do with Mal." You cry, exasperation raking through your body as you reach up and run your hands through your hair.

"Of course it has to do with Mal." He explodes. "You don't think I see you two growing closer as you investigate my daughter's death? I just lost my daughter, I can't lose you too."

"Why would you think you would lose me?" You ask, dumbfounded by his emotions.

"A couple of nights ago, you were sleeping and I rolled over and kissed your cheek. You must have thought it was part of a dream because you didn't wake up; you just smiled sleepily and whispered a name, Mal." He faces forward and looks down, his jaw clenching and unclenching. "You've been saying his name ever since, every night."

"Oscar…" You breathe, feeling guilty. You never realized that you had been letting you feelings for Mal show. A sudden thought occurs to you. What if Mal figured out how much you want to be with him, how much you love him, and he's with Kate just to get the point across that he doesn't want to be with you. "Mal is my partner, my friend, nothing more, I swear."

"I know, and it's never going to be more than that, I'm making sure of that. As long as I'm here, he'll know that I mean business, that I'm keeping you." He says his voice almost venomous. You glance over at him, not liking the crazed look in his eyes.

"Look, we can talk about this later; can we please just go and see if this place is really the crime scene?"

"Fine." He says. You drive the rest of the way in a stony silence.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Detective Mal Fallon.<strong>

You laugh as Kate kisses that extremely sensitive place on your neck. She curls into you and snuggles against your skin, filling you with warmth and happiness that you know won't last as soon as you exit the apartment, but are content to be with right now. You know that this two hour pause from work is exactly what you needed. You lean down and kiss the top of her head, sighing as you glance at the clock next to your bed.

"I've got to get back to work." You say, the afternoon soon hitting Kate's back and illuminating her smooth, silky skin.

"Work's no fun." Kate pouts, straddling your abdomen and pinning your hands above your head.

"Well, not all of us get to cut up dead bodies all night." You tease, flipping her over with ease. She squeals and you can't help but laugh. You lean in to kiss her, but before you can, your phone goes off in your pocket, loud and oh so annoying. You groan, but get up to retrieve the phone, glancing over at Kate, watching as she stretches and then puts on the button down shirt you were wearing, the edges barely skimming her thigh. She notices you watching her and smiles. You return the smile before listening to a voicemail that Natara had just left you.

"Ah hell." You say softly before looking for your pants on the floor.

"What's the matter?" Kate asks.

"I have to get going. Natara found the place where all those girls were killed." You walk up and gently peel the shirt from her body. "I hate to run out on you like this, but how about I call you later?"

"You don't have to Mal, we're not together anymore." She smiles, almost certain that you'll take this as a way to run.

"I know that I don't have to, but what if I want to?" You ask, before pressing your lips to her forehead. She looks up at you and beams.

"Then be my guest."

In ten minutes you're out the door and on the road, thanking the big guy above the Diagon Road is only a twenty minute drive from Kate's place. You reach for your cell phone and dial Natara's number, expecting her to pick up and have it out with you, especially with how pissed she sounded on the phone. Unfortunately, she doesn't pick up the phone, so you leave a voicemail.

"Hey Nat, I'm on my way to the address. Don't go in until I get there, and we can talk about what happened earlier and Oscar later." You sigh and hang up, knowing that that talk isn't going to be a fun one.

* * *

><p><strong>You are now Special Agent Natara Williams.<strong>

You park your car at the address that Amy had given you, staring at the big, cold, ugly warehouse that stands in front of you, imposing in its height and girth. You expected to be here by now, but then again he could have been the person calling you in the car, when Oscar hadn't allowed you to answer your phone. Oscar comes and stands next to you, reaching down to take your hand. You snatch it away quickly, frowning at him.  
>"Oscar, we are at the possible location of four murders, not on a date. Please, try and be professional." You say your voice stern.<p>

"Of course, I apologize." He says but you can see that he's paling and you realize that this is going to be tremendously hard for him, but he's doing this for you, so that he won't lose you. You flush with a warm feeling, but also with something else, guilt. It's because of your display of emotion for Mal that Oscar feels he needs to hold on to you tighter. You reach down and give his hand a quick squeeze before walking forward.

You walk up to the door and bring your finger to your lips, reminding Oscar to stay silent. You lean down and glance through the crack in between the doors. You can make out a bare room and then you hear it, the clacking of heels hitting cemented floors. Your eyes narrow and you can make out the silhouette of a woman. She's slim and she's dragging something, something big and in the shape of a…

"A body!" You cry before reaching for the gun in the back of your waistband. You kick the door inward and rush through, hearing Oscar follow. The woman stops looks over at you and then runs, dropping the body on the floor as she tries to get away. You pursue her as fast as you can, your legs pumping you faster and faster. "Stop SFPD!" You shout, but she continues to run, seeming to move unbelievably fast in her heels. You continue to run, drawing your gun and aiming for her leg, when you hear a scream. It's masculine and also very familiar. You immediately know who it belongs to and you stop, watching as the woman glances back with a smirk and then escapes. You feel anger course through your veins, but ignore it, opting to run back and hope nothing has happened to Oscar.

When you finally find Oscar, he is kneeling on the floor, a pained expression on his face. He is beside the body, brushing his hands against the corpses face.

"Oscar, what's wrong?" You ask breathlessly.

"He was Melanie's boyfriend." Oscar whispers. You glance down at the body again and see that it a young man, maybe eighteen. He would be very handsome if it wasn't for the bullet lodged in his forehead, or the look of a perpetual scream stuck on his face.

"Oh God." You whisper. Suddenly, you smell something. It reminds you of gasoline. Afterwards, you hear the soft scratch of a match being lit. You realize all too late what is happening. "Oh GOD." You shout. "Oscar, get down." You scream, just as the building explodes.

* * *

><p><strong>You are Detective Mal Fallon. <strong>

You arrive at the building just as it begins to shake. You watch as flames grow higher and higher around the ugly walls, not allowing anyone out. You look around for anything that could be used to put the fire out, and that's when you notice Natara's car.

"Natara!" You scream. You run up to the building and push through the door. Ignoring the searing heat the surrounds you, you look for any signs of life. "Natara!" You scream again, inhaling a lungful of black, oily smoke.

"Mal!" A weak cry responds, and you follow it. Soon you find a battered Natara underneath a bog metal sheet, and unconscious Oscar and a dead boy ling near her. She looks a little shaken and kind of bruised, but okay. "Thank God you came." She says. You bend down and help her out, picking Oscar up and slinging him around your shoulder. Natara takes the dead body and you both work your way out of the building breathing in the smoke and walking carefully around ruble and carnage. You can tell that she is weak, and you start to feel light headed as well, but you push through, and finally you end up on the other side of the door. Natara takes a deep breath before vomiting, a lot. You place Oscar on the floor before going to her side, holding her hair back and murmuring comforting words to her.

"Thanks." She says finally, jerking into an upright position and wiping her mouth. "Let's call Kai; he'll be able to do something with the body.

"Natara, we should get you to the hospital. You probably have smoke inhalation and we need to get you checked out."

"No, I'm staying right here until I know who this kid was, and why the hell he was killed." Natara says a defiant lilt in her voice. You are about to argue when you hear coughing. You turn around to see Oscar coming to. Natara sighs, and then goes over to him, leans down and slams his head into the cement. You gawk at her as she proceeds to drag him into the car. "You going to help, or what?" She asks impatiently. You immediately go and help, but when you are done, you shoot her a disbelieving look. "He's dead weight for right now Mal. Besides, they'll be plenty for him to do with this case; I don't think that this one will ever be done." As she says this a cold, bitter wind blows by and you can't help but feel as if this is true.

* * *

><p><strong>You are the Mary Santos.<strong>

You wipe away the soot that blew onto your jacket as you drove away from the burning building, smiling at the fact that you got away. You walk into your living room, wineglass in hand, when you pass her picture. You stare at her, your daughter, and immediately feel a pain that almost leaves you crumpled on the floor.

"I'm doing this for you baby." You say softly. "To say I'm so sorry for what I did, so that I can earn your forgiveness." You kiss her photo and then put it down. Melanie's smiling face watches you, and you can almost imagine that instead of the twinkle, you see cold burning hatred. You walk over to the coach and sit down, opening the folder to see your next, and final, target, the man who ruined everything, Oscar Santos.


End file.
